Prince gives Dutch language new word

Dutch dictionaries will get a new word, courtesy of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. The word already exists in English, and the Prince came up with a conventient and acceptable 'translation' into Dutch. None of the existing Dutch words fitted the Prince's purpose or conveyed the same meaning, hence the royal proposal: sanitatie (sanitation). 

The prince's involvement with the language and this word in particular can be explained by the fact that he chairs the UN Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, and 2008 being the UN International Year of Sanitation, he needed a Dutch word having the same meaning as the English 'sanitation'.

The Prince had started using 'sanitatie', and Dutch media reluctantly followed. The Netherlands Press Assocation, which is also responsibl for this web site, asked the Dutch Taalunie - the governing body of the Dutch language - if the word 'sanitatie' could be used and would be acceptable.

The answer was 'yes'. The word chosen fits the language, it fills a need and it will most likely show up in the newest dictionaries. A royal word fo a basic need.

* Willem-Alexander, Chair of UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, with David Heymann, Assistant Director-General for Health Security and Environment, World Health Organization (WHO), during a press briefing about the World Water Day, at the United Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, March 20, 2008. © GPD (AP Photo)

Comments

[Mieke]

Congratulations to our prince for insisting on using an "unauthorized" word and then receiving authorisation from the official Dutch language authorities: an office unknown (thank goodness) to the English-speaking world, where the great dictionaries battle it out, following the lead of the vox populi.